DESC: Nile is injured saving Kyoya from a cave-in. So, being one to hate being in debt, Kyoya visits him to find out how he can repay him.
From the Mayblade 2023 prompt list.
When the nurse told him that he had a visitor, Nile assumed it would either be Demure back from the WBBA's office, or maybe Benkei bringing another homecooked meal. What he hadn't assumed- but what he really should've expected- was Kyoya, arms crossed and face resting in a childish sulk.
Nile tried to push himself to sit up in his hospital bed, but the stabbing pain in his abdomen proved to be not worth the trouble. So instead, he lay still and watched as Kyoya sculked into the room. He came close enough for Nile to see him without craning his neck, then leaned against the wall.
"You're kind of insane, you know that?"
Nile sighed. Just as confrontational as always in the most inappropriate of places. "I'm not the one who almost got himself crushed to death," he retorted, quietly.
Kyoya scoffed. "Yeah. You're the one who would've gotten crushed to death if that emergency team hadn't come in time," he spat. "What were you thinking?"
"I think it was something along the lines of oh god, my friend's about to get himself killed, I would like that to not happen," Nile mocked. When he saw Kyoya's scowl grow colder, he sarcastically corrected himself, "Sorry, my acquaintance was about to get himself killed."
Kyoya looked away. "I've gotten myself out of way worse than a little cave-in," he huffed.
"Little? Tell that to my ribs," Nile said, cringing at the pain of trying to readjust himself. Kyoya's only response to that was barely a grunt; more like a small exhale forced out of his lungs. Nile waited for any other snarky retort, but nothing came. "So is that it? You came here to tell me how stupid I am?" he asked, drawing Kyoya's gaze back to him.
"That's not what I'm doing," he snapped. "I'm just saying I can handle myself."
"Good for you," Nile deadpanned, not caving to whatever show Kyoya was trying to put on. "What are you doing here, Kyoya?" he asked, patiently.
Kyoya's eyes snuck away from him again as he shrugged. "Do I need a reason?"
Nile raised a hand to his face and firmly rubbed his temples. "Your waffling is really starting to annoy me-" But who was Kyoya to waffle? Who was he to waste his own valuable time? He didn't come here to chew out Nile, and he never just wanted to hang out casually, which left only one thing in Nile's mind. "Oh…" The annoyance dripped off of his face as he lowered his hand to rest on his abdomen.
Kyoya furrowed his brow at him, more confused than frustrated. "What?"
Nile's eyelids drooped as he stated the answer that was so clear to him now. "You're trying to figure out how you can repay me, aren't you?"
In the very slight flinch that moved Kyoya's shoulders, Nile could tell he was right. Not quite trying to deny it, Kyoya asked, "What makes you say that?" as casually as one can when being found out like this.
Nile looked him up and down, and gave a small shrug. "Just you," he answered. "You hate being helped, so when it's unavoidable you need to find a way to cleanse your soul, or something."
The way Kyoya's expression fell from a scowl to almost completely blank was a little concerning to Nile, but he didn't want to backtrack now; Kyoya should've been used to Nile tearing down his walls so easily.
He sighed and looked up at the ceiling, trying to think of something he could say to make the tension disappear. One would think the drab surroundings of a hospital room wouldn't be much of an inspiration. But to Nile in that moment, they were quite the opposite.
"I like lilies," he said, casually.
Clearly startled by the sudden comment, Kyoya narrowed his eyes at him. "What?" All Nile did was shrug in response, causing Kyoya to stop leaning on the wall and walk closer. "Are you asking me to buy you flowers?" he asked in disbelief.
"Orange ones, specifically," Nile clarified, unable to stop the wry smile that began to pull at his lips.
Kyoya blinked a few times, completely dumbfounded, before straightening himself up again in an attempt to resume his careless façade. "That's not really how I like to repay my debts."
"But what if that's the only thing I want?"
"It's not about what you want; it's about what you need."
Nile let out a quick, sharp breath, almost like a laugh. "I am in hospital with four broken ribs. The only thing I need is medical attention, and you can't give me that."
Kyoya let out a loud groan and rolled his eyes into the back of his head, then plonked himself down on the chair beside Nile's bed. "You're a nuisance," he grumbled, pulling his phone out of his pocket.
"It's not my fault you don't know basic hospital etiquette- or basic training etiquette, for that matter," Nile pointed out.
Kyoya didn't look up from his phone's screen as he responded. "If you can't handle the way I train-"
"You couldn't handle the way you train, if you actually felt the impact of it."
"Then let me get crushed next time so I can."
"God, maybe I should. Then maybe you'd be less-"
"Hatred?" Kyoya uttered, scepticism written on his face.
The sudden interruption startled Nile. "What?"
Kyoya held his phone beside the bed to show Nile the screen. On it, a picture of Nile's favourite flower surrounded by cursive text was displayed on a fancy-looking website. "Orange lilies. They represent hatred."
After Nile skimmed the website to confirm, he eyed Kyoya suspiciously. "You're into flower meanings?"
"No," he firmly insisted, pulling his phone back to hold at his chest. "That's just what came up when I looked them up."
Nile let a satisfied smirk show. "So you will get me flowers?"
"If it means I can tell you I hate you in more than one way, then maybe I should," Kyoya conceded.
Nile chuckled triumphantly, only barely phased by the pain of such an act. "Hey, can you look up what camellias mean? I like those too."
Kyoya complied and looked down at his phone again. "It'd better be something like you're a moron," he mumbled.
"One can only hope."
After a short moment, there was a dejected "Oh" from Kyoya.
Nile looked at him curiously. "What?"
"Love," Kyoya spat, clear disdain on his face- though oddly enough, not in his eyes; those remained neutral as ever.
Nile nodded. "Mm, shame." It shouldn't have come as much of a surprise; love was likely the meaning of half the flowers on earth.
Kyoya turned his phone off and leaned back in his chair. "Well, you'll have to settle for lilies, then."
"Until two minutes ago you didn't even know flowers had meanings. Why adhere to it now?"
"I don't want to unintentionally say anything I don't mean," he stated, matter-of-factly.
Nile crossed his arms over his chest. "Well what if I need camellias in order to let you pay your debts?"
"I'm not that desperate," Kyoya snapped back.
"Of course, you're not," Nile sighed.
"If you wants camellias so bad, just ask someone who's longing for you," Kyoya suggested, half-sarcastically.
Nile frowned. "Longing?"
"The pink ones, they mean longing," he clarified, tapping the back of his phone. "Apparently."
"Right… and where am I going to find someone who longs for me?"
He looked up into Kyoya's eyes, the other boy immediately turning his head away. "That's no concern of mine," he shrugged.
"Would that task be better or worse than buying me flowers?"
Kyoya looked back at him with contempt. "I think your pain medication is making you delirious."
Nile hummed. "Maybe so."
With the same gusto one would have when trying to entertain a small child, Kyoya slapped his hands down on his knees and stood up. "Right, I'm out."
Nile let his tired eyes turn sad, but pursed his lips so as to seem disingenuous. "Going so soon?"
"I got what I came for," Kyoya declared, giving a half-assed wave before immediately turning for the door.
Before he could walk any further, Nile called out, "They'd better be beautiful lilies!"
A disgruntled "Hmph" was all he got in return.
Drug-induced naps weren't always the worst, but this particular one had Nile's head spinning like a record. The fluorescent room spun around him in a way that would've made him be sick if he could be bothered to sit up. But there was one thing that eased the sickness ever so slightly; a sweet scent that Nile couldn't quite place until he looked to his left.
Up on his bedside table stood a tall bouquet of orange lilies, held up by the ornate glass vase they rested in.
A wide smile grew on Nile lips. He reached up to touch the soft petals, admiring the beautiful speckles of red concentrated in the flower's centre. As he did this, however, something caught his eye: a glimpse of another colour between the stems of the lilies. He reached further, straining the pain in his abdomen as he did so, but still determined to find what it was. Using his fingers to separate the stems, he peaked through to the centre of the bouquet.
And then he laughed a loud, manic, almost solemn laugh, at what he saw: a single pink camellia.
